Monday, February 24, 2014

Olympic Highlights

I first started this blog when Chris and I got engaged. Originally, we planned for Chris to do some guest posts. Since then, I think Chris has maybe done 3 guest posts total. We decided it was about time that he did one again! We've been super into watching the Winter Olympics, so we thought it was fitting that he would do a recap on some of our favorite moments.

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The Winter Olympics kicked off in Sochi, Russia on Feb 7, 2014. One of the more iconic images of the opening ceremonies was this one, which shows the 5th flower malfunctioning and not opening up into a ring.

The big news prior to the Olympics starting was that the hotel rooms were not up to par. That sentiment could be summed up from this tweet from USA bobsled team member Johnny Quinn, who was trapped in his bathroom and had to break through the door in order to get out.

One of the cooler stories from Sochi was that of the Jamaican bobsled team. They actually started a crowd funding campaign to help fund their trip to the Olympics. They raised more than $25k through these efforts. They did not medal, but they should be given honorable mention for their watermelon themed helmets!

One of the most interesting men in the Olympics had to be 55 year old (and Mexico's only Olympian) alpine skier Hubertus von Hohenlohe. This was his 6th Olympics, no less. His mariachi-themed race suit was a classic! “If you cannot win, then at least be stylish,” he was telling a tv reporter. Unfortunately, von Hohenlohe crashed and ended up with a DNF in the slalom results.

The USA women's figure skating team had a tough time competing with the world's best skaters. One of the classic pics from Sochi was that of Ashley Wagner, who did her best McKayla Maroney face.

You have to love the enthusiasm by the gold medal winning athletes in these two pictures.....

One of the more interesting events in Sochi was the skeleton. (think luge, but instead of laying on your back, you're on your stomach, face first). Since your helmet is front and center, some of the athletes got very creative with the artwork on their helmets. Here are a few of ones that stood out, which are actually all from the Canadian skeleton team:

Although they didn't medal, the men's curling team from Norway again looked like they were the best dressed team on the ice.

One of the more touching stories from Sochi was that of skiier Alex Bilodeau of Canada, who won a gold medal in moguls, and celebrated with his brother Frederic, who has cerebral palsy. Very inspirational!

Oh Canada! Major props should be given to Canada for winning the gold in men's ice hockey (beating Sweden 3-0) and also for women's ice hockey (for beating the USA 3-2).

The closing ceremonies were last night and Russia decided to poke fun at themselves over the 5th ring malfunction, so they had performers re-create that opening ceremony moment......

At the end of the day, this is probably my favorite Olympic moment from Sochi. Watching hockey early in the morning on the weekend with my little guy.

We are already looking forward to watching the Summer Olympics in Rio (Summer 2016). Be sure to come back for another blog post recap from Chris :)